So, after over a year of waiting and constantly checking these forums I have finally pulled the trigger on a Salvage Laguna Seca Blue, E46 M3. I want to apologize to all of you who I have annoyed by posting ad's in the WTB section for Salvage/wrecked M3's, thankfully those days are over for me

Call me crazy, call me dumb, call me stupid, call me whatever you want, I don't really care. I have years of experience in buying cars like these, and my last M3 was bought off of IAAI - though that particular M3 wasn't purchased at the right time for me. I was broke, still in College, and desperate for an M car. Currently I am graduated, work full time in Finance, and finally have some play money.

I wanted to take on this project and document it 100% so that all of you may see that if you buy the right Salvage/wrecked car with the right amount of damage, you can really find a good deal if you do your homework. This particular example was purchased from Copart in Texas. Before you ask, I will NOT tell you how much I purchased it for. The reason why I chose to go through with this project is because I have ties to a body and repair shop, so the cost of fixing and repairing this M3 will be, "at cost", for me. I waited for this particular car because it only has damage in the rear, and no damage to the front of the car and or engine department. This was a HUGE plus for me.

I know many people on here have mixed feelings about Salvage/wrecked cars. So let me start off by saying that I am one of those people, and I am friends with those kind of people. The thing about the Salvage/wrecked genre of cars is that they get a bad rep from people who buy them, fix them the cheapest way possible, cut corners, hide issues, and then sell them for a profit to some poor shmuck who doesn't know what he's getting himself into until its too late. Rest assured no corners will be cut with this M3, and I am going to address every single issue that may arise during the rebuild process.

Before buying the car, I conducted the research listed below:

1) Paid someone to go and look at the car for me because it is out of state and wanted to be sure I wasn't getting scammed before buying.
2) I Googled the VIN before buying it to check previous for sale ads, forum posts, etc.
3) Called BMW dealer and verify that the Rod Bearings were replaced, and verified all service history.
4) CarFaxed the M3 to check Mileage data, accident, and owner history.

Background on the M3:

1) It is a 1 owner, 1 accident vehicle - I am happy to be number 2
2) It runs and drives the way it looks in the pictures
3) Its a 6 speed manual, with xenons, and a sunroof (everything I wanted)

These are the only pictures I have so far as the car is currently being hauled here to Chicago on a semi. It should arrive by Saturday. When it does arrive I will upload a full walk around, start up, and interior view. I know how interesting these kind of projects are to people on the forums so I want to be as helpful and as insightful as I can be in showing all of you (behind the seen action) in what it takes to revive a Salvage/wrecked car. Side note: Please do not ask to buy the car, I waited over a year for this one, and I plan on owning it forever

I work full time and will upload pictures of the rebuild and paint process when I can. I will try to be as extensive as I can be. If anyone has any questions at all feel free to ask.

Thanks for reading and hopefully this can keep us all entertained for a couple of weeks! I am just as excited and as nervous as all of you!

Thank you man! Looks like I was able to get my project LSB after all haha

Feb. 2018 Update:

Updated pictures of frame and body work. When I had it repaired, I decided to pull the quarter instead of replacing it so I could enjoy the car quicker. The shop that repaired the car also happens to be my fathers, so I didn’t want him pulling time away from insurance jobs to focus on my project LSB for a couple weeks. In all honesty, I now regret not replacing the quarter to begin with, and will have the quarter replaced entirely in March of 2018 and a full respray of the car done as the PO did a piss poor attempt at a respray.

I have all new window moldings, and door moldings for the respray which should make things look nice and fresh again. I am all looking for new lenses for the headlights so if anyone has any recommendations please let me know!

Took the M3 out for a drive today after a good wash. In these pictures, I've installed koni yellows, sport springs, and 18" BBS RGR's. I am planning on installing a DINAN intake then a DINAN short shift kit, LED tails, and euro headers and cats headers and that's where the modding stops...

Took her out for a drive today and got her washed. She's on koni yellows, sport springs, and BBS RGR's. Planning on installing a DINAN intake then a short shift kit, LED tails, and lastly headers and that's where the modding stops...

In November of 2017 I had Alex at PerformanceEuroWerks check over the car when he was replacing the RTAB's and he let me know that the subframe was in great shape for the milage, and there are no signs of cracking!

I am planning on doing the rod bearings and bullet proofing the VANOS soon myself when I have more time. I am also trying to sell my RGR's so that I can purchase square 18"x10" APEX ARC-8's. Also, if anyone has any tips for removing tint I would greatly appreciate it! I hate the look of it and mine is peeling and turning purple thanks to the poor care from the PO and the Texas sun!

Random tidbit, but I am also planning on picking up an AP1 Honda S2000 soon as well. I had one in 2016 and sold it and have regretted it since. That car was the most fun I've had while driving, it pretty much was a legal go kart and that shifter was one of the best I've had the pleasure of using. Once I get the S2000, I feel as if I will have satisfied my combustion engine tick.

M3Forum.com and M3forum.net is in no way sponsored, endorsed or affiliated by or with BMW NA / BMW AG or any of it's subsidiaries or vendors.BMW and M3 (E90 M3 | E92 M3 | E93 M3 | E46 M3 | E36 M3 | E30 M3) are registered trademarks of BMW AG. M3Forum Terms of Service

Discussing Rob's '02 Tiag Street/Track Build in the Member Journals Forum - Do you have a long term project you would like to share with the community? Use this forum to create a single thread which you can update over time to document the progress. at BMW M3 Forum.com (E30 M3 | E36 M3 | E46 M3 | E92 M3 | F80/X)